Automobile cigarette case with an automatic electrical lighter

ABSTRACT

An automatic cigarette lighter for use on automobiles including a storage case for cigarettes, an electrical heater for lighting the end of a cigarette, and circuit means for operating the lighter which are immune to mechanical vibration and centrifugal force.

ted States Patent di191 U [111 3,769,492 Senkewich [45] Oct. 30, 1973[54] AUTOMOBILE CIGARETTE CASE WITH 2,650,277 8/1953 Recke: al 20o/165 xAN AUTOMATIC ELECTRICAL LIGHTER 2,747,038 5/1956 Perkovich 200/165 X2,836,624 6/1958 Hills et al 200/33 A [76] Inventor: Alexander M.Senkewich, New 2,990,460 6/1961 Worth et 20G/33 A York, N.Y. 3,351,735ll/l967 Desbiens 2l9/26l 3,361,894 l/l968 Lester 2l9/26l [22] Fled Alg-29 1972 3,548,148 12/1970 Kowasima... 219/262 [2l] Appl` NaI 283,2663,705,414 l2/l972 Senkewich 219/262 Primary Examiner-Volodymyr Y.Mayewsky [52] U.S. Cl 4219/262, 219/261, 219/267, Att0mey james M`Heilman 219/269 [5l] Int. Cl. F23q 7/00 [581 riem olf Search 219/261,262, 267, [57] ABSTRACT 21g/269; 20o/165, 6141, 33 A An automaticcigarette lighter for use on automobiles including a storage case forcigarettes, an electrical [56] References Cited heater forvlighting theend of a cigarette, and circuit UNITED STATES PATENTS means foroperating the lighter which are immune to 2 226 250 12H94() M 21g/262 Xmechanical vibration and centrifugal force.

ayer 2,419,458 4/ 1947 Mayer 219/263 X 3 Claims, 32 Drawing FiguresAUTOMOBILE CIGARETTE CASE WITH AN AUTOMATIC ELECTRICAL LIGHTER CROSSREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Thisapplication is for an improvementon a prior application, Ser. No. 622,662, filed Mar. 13, 1967, nowabandoned, and application Ser. No. 153,267, filed .lune 15, 1971, nowU.S. Pat. No. 3,705,414, issued Dec. 5, 1972.

In these days many unhappy situations occur on the roadways by the faultof the driver who wants to smoke a cigarette. The driver has to look forthe pack of cigarettes, then take out one, and get the existing electriclighter to light his cigarette and then put the cigarette lighter backin its place.

In this process of lighting a cigarette, the driver loses his attentionfrom the road and creates a dangerous situation for himself, hispassengers and other motorists on the road. The proposed type ofcigarette case, with an automatic cigarette lighter, has a generalpurpose for a driver who smokes cigarettes, it creates such conditions,in which he will not lose his attention from the road while driving andlighting a cigarette.

The proposed cigarette case contains 20 cigarettes. This cigarette casecan be fixed on any convenient place for the driver. The driver whowants to smoke a cigarette has to make only two moves. The first move topush at yany place on the plate, which is on the moving part of thecigarette case. The second move to take out automatically a lightedcigarette. Thus, the use. of this type of cigarette case in automobilesgives some advantage of driving safety.

I propose two types of cigarette cases. In the first type, allcigarettes slide from their loading place down the slope of a channel,which is the inner part of the cigarette case. In the second type ofcigarette case, the cigarettes are laid in a bunch,and only a fewcigarettes, one after the other, move down to the exit of the cigarettecase.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention includes a cigarette caseand automatic lighter for delivering a lighted cigarette to an operatorand comprises a container for housing all the cigarettes, spaced sheetsforming an enclosure within the housing, and a rockable plate whichnormally closes the bottom opening of the enclosure. A trough ispositioned in front of the plate for receiving a single cigarette whenthe plate is moved away from the channel, and a mechanical stop isarranged for rotating the cigarette when the trough and plate arenormalized. One end of the cigarette is lighted by means of anelectrical heater mounted adjacent to the rockable plate, current beingsupplied to the heater through an electric switch and an external sourceof power. A signal lamp is connected in parellel with the heater forindicating when voltage is applied to the heater and a spring operatedrod is coupled to the rockable plate for turning the switch on or off. Amovable plate is mounted inside the box for accommodating cigarettes ofdiffering lengths and an ashtry is secured to the bottom ofthecontainer.

DRAWINGS FIG. l. Front view of the cigarette case of the firstvariation.

FIG. 2. Vertical section of the same taken along line 2-2 in FIG. l.

FIG. 3. Vertical section of the same taken along line 3 3 in FIG. l. Itis shown only the lower half of the section, in case when it is pushedby finger on the moving part of the cigarette case (it is vshown byarrow 36) for receiving the cigarette.

FIG. 4. The same lower half of the section ofthe cigarette case that isin FIG. 3. But the moving part of the cigarette case has its formerposition FIG. 2, and the cigarette is in contact with the cigarettelighter.

FIG. 5. Perspective view of the cigarette case of the second variation.l

FIG. 6.`Vertical section of the same taken along line 6-6 in FIG. S.

FIG. 7. Rear view of the same but without the rear wall.

FIG. 8. Front view of the adjuster of the length of the cigarette in thesecond type of cigarette case.

FIG. 9. Top view of the same.

FIG. 10. Vertical section of the same taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 8.

FIG. l l. Vertical section of the same taken along line 11-11 in FIG.10.

FIG. 12. Rear view of the moving part of the cigarette case. Points hereare in OFF position.

FIG. 13. Same, but points here are in ON position.

FIG. 14. Vertical section of the same taken along line 14-14 in FIG. l2.

FIG. 15. Horizontal section of the same taken along line 15-15 in FIG.12.

FIG. 16. Side view of the moving plate with the rod of the electriccontact.

FIG. 17. Front view of the same.

FIG. 18. The same as in FIG. 12. The only difference consists in thecontact springs.

FIG. 19. Same as in FIG. 13. The only difference consists in the contactsprings.

FIG. 20. Vertical section of the same taken along line 20-20 in FIG. 18.

FIG. 21. Horizontal section of the same taken'along line 21-21 in FIG.18.

FIG. 22. Side view of the cigarette case with plug contact, which isfixed to the flexible wire.

FIG. 23. Side view of the cigarette case, where the plug contact isfixed to the rear wall of the cigarette case.

FIG. 24. Rear view of the same.

FIG. 25. Front view of the cigarette case, which is fixed to thedashboard with front flanges.

FIG. 26. Side view of the same. A

FIG. 27. Side view of the cigarette case, which is fixed to the ashtrayfor use in the house.

FIG. 28. Perspective view only of the box in which moves a plate whichregulates the length of the cigarette.

FIG. 29. Side view of the plate which regulates the length of thecigarette.

FIG. 30. Top view of the same.

FIG. 31. Top view of the box with the plate, which regulates the lengthof the cigarette.

FIG. 32. Electrical scheme of the cigarette case.

DESCRIPTION FIGS. 1 and 2 show the first type of cigarette case with achannel. This channel has a sliding slope on which the cigarettes movedown one after the other.

The bottom of the channel is open, but the cigarettes are held by plate47 of the moving part 48 of the front part of the cigarette-case. Theend of plate 47 is bent up and this bent part will serve as the stop forthe moving details 48 or 58, when it will return to its originalposition.

To fill the cigarette case with cigarettes, the top door 49 is opened,and container 86 is removed. A plate 87 which regulates the length ofthe loaded cigarettes is positioned within container 86. After thecigarettes are loaded, plate 87 is adjusted to the length of the ciga-vrettes, and secured to the container 86 with screw S0."

Flg. yis `a perspective view ofthe cigarette case of the second type. Inthis type of cigarette case, the vcigarettes are laid in a bunch, andonly a few cigarettes at a time move down to the exitof the cigarettecase one after the other.

The lowest cigarette lies on plate 57 of moving part 58of the-front partof the cigarette'case (FIG. 5) as in the first variation. Inside the boxof the cigarette case (FIG. 5), there is an enclosure 59 of the lengthof the cigarettes. This movable part 59 has two walls. The side wall(a-b-c-d) and the rear wall (b-d-e-f). The cigarettes are stored inbetween tbe rear wall of the enclosure and the front wall of thecigarette case. This enclosure 59 is secured to two thin bars 60, 61.The side wall of this enclosure limits the length of the cigarettes.Because of this, the cigarette casecan be filled with cigarettes ofdifferent lengths. The rear wall of the enclosure is inclined as shownin FIG. 6. This gives the chance to move the cigarettes at the exit-oneby one. This enclosure has also another function. The rear wall isdouble; in between these walls there is stored a spongev88, whichabsorbs water. From time to time this sponge is wetted with dropper 98.When the cigarettes close to the electric heater will get dry, thehumidity in the sponge will vaporize, and the vapor will enter throughholes 62 to give humidity to the tabacco in the cigarettes.

The front part of both variations of the cigarette case has a rockablemember (48 for first variation and 58 for second variation). The upperpart of the member is meant for the receiving of cigarettes; and forthat purpose, it has a corresponding configuration. When'the member48-58 is pressed at any point (arrow 36, FIG. 3), it turns around shafts51, 52 or S3, 54 on several angles and is held by stop 55 or 56. At thattime, the rockable member takes the position as shown in FIG. 3. Plate47 or 57 also moves, and cigarette 65 falls down on the oval surface ofthe member. When the finger is removed from the pressed part, thenmember 48 takes its original position (FIG. 4) with the help of spring63 or 64. On the way back the member 48 with cigarette 65 to itsoriginal position, the short end of the cigarette meets stop 66 or 67fixed to the body of the cigarette case. Around this stop, as around afulcrum, the cigarette starts tumng.

At the time of the turning of the cigarette, its short end will press onthe end of moving plate 68, which through Contact rod 69 will be incontact with contact bar 70 (FIGS. I3, I9). At this time, electriclighter 79 and signal lamp 78 are lighted automatically. In a fewseconds it will be possible to take out the lighted cigarette. When thecigarette is taken out, then spring 74 or 77 will cut off the current(FIGS. 12, 18). In FIGS. I2, 13 and 15 side views of the moving parts ofthe cigarette case are shown. These springs return the contact bars fromposition ON to the position OFF.

Contact bar 69l is fixed to moving plate 68 and it moves freely throughtwo brackets 71, 72. The second contact bar 70 is screwed to insulatorblock 7S. Spring 74 is fastened to bracket 72 at one end and with theother end fastened to washer 76.

FIGS. 18 and 19 illustrate the operation of flat spring 77. The one endof this'spring 77 is fixed to bracket 72, and the other end is fixed towasher 73. FIGS. 12, l5, 18 and 2l show the contacts in the positionOFF; FIGS. 13 and I9 the contacts in the position ON. When the contactsare in the position ON, not only the electric lighter is lighted butalso signal lamp 78 and 92.

For fastening the cigarette case on the automobile, the following isproposed. On the production lines, the

v cigarette case will be fastened on the automobiles the same way as theradio, the electric clock, etc. For this purpose, on the dashboard ofthe automobile a hole is cut, the required sizeof the cigarettecase; thecase is inserted and is fastened with flanges 8S Ato the dashboard. Forthe old automobiles, the fastening of the cigarettecasecan be done byother ways. From the electrical scheme shown in FIG. 32 it is evidentthat plug 8l is the same as is used at the present time in theautomobile with electric lighter. In this plug 8l, the only thing thatis absent is the heat spiral, but ring 83 is left on the plug. The heatspiral is moved to position 79. In this case, if this plug 83 is put inthe' same socket where it -is put now, the electric current passes alongtwo wires. With one wire 80, the electric current will go to the centerof lighter 8l; and with the other wire 82, the electric current, throughswitch 84, will pass to the ring of lighter 79. Here pilot lamp 78 isparallel connected. Plug 81 can be on a flexible wire, then thecigarette case can be fastened in any place, either with hook 90, orwith magnet 8l, which is fastened to the rear wall of the cigarette caseor with flanges 89 (FIG 22). Plug 8l can be fastened on the rear wall ofthe cigarette case. In this case plug 8l is put in the socket whichexists in every automobile for lighter. For more convenience, in thelast case, the cigarette case can be fastened with one of the abovementioned methods.

At the bottom of the cigarette case is shown block 99 with thread (FIG.27) by which this cigarette case can be'fastened with screws to the roomashtray for use at home.

ELECTRIC LIGHTER The fastening of the electric lighter is seen clearlyfrom FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 7. Electric lighter 79 is fastened on theinsulating support 93. To the ring of electric lighter 79 is connectedwire 82. On the axle of the electric lighter is put on insulating washer24 and to the axle is connected wire 80.

ASHTRAY On the bottom of the cigarette case, there is built-in movingashtray 96. This ashtray is used to collect ashes during smoking; but init, through holes 98 in the bottom of the cigarette case, will fall alsothe ashes which are collected near the electric lighter.

I claim:

1,. A cigarette case 'and automatic lighter for delivering a lightedcigarette to an operator comprising a container for housing all theoperating components; a movable enclosure inside the containercomprising two walls for accommodating the cigarettes according to theirlengths and forming a channel at the bottom thereof; a rockable platenormally closing the bottom opening of said channel and resilientlyurged to remain in that position; a trough positioned in front of saidplate for receiving a single cigarette when the plate is manually movedaway from the channel opening; a stop secured to a portion of thecontainer and extending to one end of said trough for rotating thecigarette about a substantially vertical axis when the trough and therockable plate are normalized; an electric heater coil mounted adjacentto said rockable plate for lighting the end of the cigarette thatremains in a vertical axis within the container; an electric switchconnected in series between the electric heater coil and a source ofelectric power for supplying current to the heater coil;

a signal lamp connected in parallel with the connection to the heatercoil; a resiliently operated rod coupled to the plate formed with anoval portion for contact with the cigarette when in its rotatedposition; said rod for turning the switch on to light the cigarette ismanually removed from the container; a wet sponge in between the rearwall of the container and the enclosure; a pair of bars along which saidenclosure moves; and a stop with a spring which returns said rockableplate carrying a cigarette from the cigarette case.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said cigarette caseincludes an enclosure where the cigarettes are laid in a bunch.

3. A device as claimed in claim l wherein is a piece of wet sponge,which is wetted with a dropper.

1. A cigarette case and automatic lighter for delivering a lightedcigarette to an operator comprising a container for housing all theoperating components; a movable enclosure inside the containercomprising two walls for accommodating the cigarettes according to theirlengths and forming a channel at the bottom thereof; a rockable platenormally closing the bottom opening of said channel and resilientlyurged to remain in that position; a trough positioned in front of saidplate for receiving a single cigarette when the plate is manually movedaway from the channel opening; a stop secured to a portion of thecontainer and extending to one end of said trough for rotating thecigarette about a substantially vertical axis when the trough and therockable plate are normalized; an electric heater coil mounted adjacentto said rockable plate for lighting the end of the cigarette thatremains in a vertical axis within the container; an electric switchconnected in series between the electric heater coil and a source ofelectric power for supplying current to the heater coil; a signal lampconnected in parallel with the connection to the heater coil; aresiliently operated rod coupled to the plate formed with an ovalportion for contact with the cigarette when in its rotated position;said rod for turning the switch on to light the cigarette is manuallyremoved from the container; a wet sponge in between the rear wall of thecontainer and the enclosure; a pair of bars along which said enclosuremoves; and a stop with a spring which returns said rockable platecarrying a cigarette from the cigarette case.
 2. A device as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the said cigarette case includes an enclosure where thecigarettes are laid in a bunch.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1wherein is a piece of wet sponge, which is wetted with a dropper.